Lighting device for the boot of a convertible motor vehicle

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a lighting device for the boot ( 2 ) of a motor vehicle comprising a retractable roof device ( 1 ) in said boot ( 2 ). According to the invention, the retractable roof device consists of a rigid front roof element ( 3 ) and a rear roof element ( 4 ) which forms the back window. Both of the aforementioned roof elements are connected to the body of the vehicle using means that enable said two elements ( 3  and  4 ) to be moved between a position ( 1   a ) whereby the two elements ( 3  and  4 ) cover the vehicle and a position whereby the two elements are stored in the boot ( 4 ). At least one of said roof elements is provided with at least one first means of lighting ( 5, 5   a ) the passenger compartment when the roof ( 1 ) is covering the vehicle ( 1   a ). The inventive device is characterised in that it also comprises means of detecting (B and C) respectively the presence of the roof in the folded-up position and the opening of the vehicle boot flap ( 7 ), said detection means being connected to the lighting control means ( 6 ). In this way, the first lighting means ( 5, 5   a ) of the roof ( 1 ) light up when the roof is in the folded-up position and the boot flap is opened at the same time.

[0001] The present invention, relates to a lighting device for the rear trunk of a convertible motor vehicle.

[0002] It deals more particularly with a device for lighting the rear trunk of a motor vehicle provided with a roof that can be retracted into said trunk, comprising a rigid front roof element and a rear roof element forming a rear window, which elements are connected to the body of the vehicle by means allowing the two elements above to be moved between a position in which these two elements cover the vehicle and a position in which they are stowed in the rear trunk.

[0003] It will be understood that on this type of vehicle, when the roof is stowed in the trunk, the traditional means of lighting the trunk, which is arranged in an upper part of the trunk, is partially obscured and thus rendered ineffective.

[0004] In order to resolve this problem, the trunk-lighting means can conceivably be positioned in the bottom part. However, such an arrangement is not satisfactory for using the trunk in a position in which the vehicle is covered, the lighting means becoming very quickly obscured by the objects to be transported.

[0005] The aim of the invention is to propose a lighting device that enables all or part of the aforementioned disadvantages to be overcome.

[0006] To this end, the subject of the present invention is a device for lighting a motor vehicle trunk using a roof device that can be retracted into the rear trunk of the vehicle, comprising a rigid front roof element and a rear roof element forming a rear window, which elements are connected to the body of the vehicle by means allowing the two elements above to be moved between a position in which these two elements cover the vehicle and a position in which they are stowed in the rear trunk, at least one of the roof elements being provided with at least a first means for lighting the cabin when the roof is in the vehicle-covering position, said device being characterized in that it additionally comprises means for respectively detecting the presence of the roof in the folded position and the opening of the lid of the rear trunk of the vehicle, these means being connected to the lighting control means in order to illuminate the lighting means of the roof when the roof is in the folded position and, at the same time, the trunk lid is in the opening position.

[0007] According to an advantageous configuration, the means for detecting the opening of the trunk lid are additionally associated with second lighting means arranged in the upper part of the trunk in order to illuminate or extinguish the second lighting means in accordance with the state of the detection means.

[0008] Again according to the invention, the first lighting means are arranged on the front roof element so as to be situated opposite the transparent part of the rear window when the roof is in a stowed position in the trunk.

[0009] Another subject of the present invention relates to a convertible motor vehicle equipped with a roof that can be retracted into the rear trunk, characterized in that it comprises a device for lighting the trunk according to any one of the abovementioned configurations.

[0010] According to an alternative embodiment, the vehicle may comprise in a conventional manner, inside the trunk, a separating screen defining an upper compartment intended for stowing the roof and a lower compartment intended for luggage. In such an alternative form, the separating screen is made, according to the invention, from a large-mesh textile or from a translucent material in order to allow the light emitted by the first lighting means to pass through.

[0011] The features of the invention that are mentioned above, and others beside, will emerge more clearly from reading the following description of an exemplary embodiment, with reference to the appended drawings, in which:

[0012]FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the retractable roof according to the invention and of the rear trunk of a vehicle; and

[0013]FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the electric circuit of the lighting device according to the invention.

[0014]FIG. 1 shows a roof 1 that can be retracted into the rear trunk 2 of a convertible vehicle, comprising a rigid front roof element 3 and a rear roof element 4 forming a rear window, which elements are connected to the body of the vehicle by means (not shown) allowing the two elements 3 and 4 above to be moved between a position 1 a in which these two elements 3 and 4 cover the vehicle and a position 1 b in which they are stowed in the rear trunk 2. Because they depart from the scope of the invention, the means allowing the roof elements to be moved will not be described in the remainder of the description.

[0015] It is traditional for at least one of the roof elements, preferably the front roof element 3, to be provided with at least one means 5 for lighting the cabin when the roof 1 is in the vehicle-covering position 1 a. This lighting means 5 is connected in a conventional manner to a lighting control means 6 (FIG. 2) in order to illuminate or extinguish said lighting means 5 in accordance with information regarding the state of the means for detecting an opening of an opening part, such as one of the vehicle doors denoted by the references Pd and Pg for the right door and the left door respectively, or else the deliberate actuation A by a passenger of the vehicle. These detection means Pg, Pd and A consist for example of switches, as schematically illustrated in FIG. 2.

[0016] According to the present invention, the lighting device is additionally provided with means, denoted by the references B and C, for respectively detecting the presence of the roof 1 in the folded position 1 b and the opening of the lid 7 of the rear trunk of the vehicle, these means being connected to the lighting control means 6 in order to illuminate the lighting means 5 of the roof 1 when the roof is in the folded position and, at the same time, the trunk lid is in the opening position.

[0017] The means C for detecting the opening of the trunk lid 7 are additionally associated with second lighting means 8 arranged in the upper part of the trunk in order to illuminate or extinguish the second lighting means 8 as a function of the state of the means C for detecting the position of the lid.

[0018] In order to better illustrate the operation of the device according to the invention, FIG. 2 shows an electrical diagram of the lighting device according to the invention.

[0019] The table below shows the operational logic of the device according to the invention in accordance with the state of the detection means:

[0020] C and B are actuated: illumination of the first lighting means, that is to say lighting of the trunk,

[0021] A is actuated: illumination of the first lighting means, that is to say lighting of the cabin,

[0022] C is actuated: illumination of the second lighting means, that is to say lighting of the trunk,

[0023] Pg or Pd is actuated: illumination of the first lighting means, that is to say lighting of the cabin.

[0024] It will naturally be understood that the first lighting means 5 are arranged so that they are situated opposite the transparent part of the rear window 4 once folded in the trunk 2. The luggage compartment under the roof 1 in the stowed position 1 b is first lit through the rear window 4.

[0025] It will be noted in this context that the lights 5 are represented on the sides of the roof, but they may also be located in the mid-plane of the vehicle, integrated with the roof lining 10, as shown at 5 a, or at any point in the front roof part, it being essential for at least a certain number of them to be located opposite the rear window when the roof is in the folded position in the trunk in order to ensure that the latter is effectively lit in this position.

[0026] In order to separate the luggage compartment from the compartment for stowing the roof in the trunk, a separating screen 9 is generally arranged between the two compartments.

[0027] It is advantageous according to the present invention for this separating screen 9, shown in FIG. 1, to be made, for example, from a large-mesh textile or from a translucent material in order to allow the light emitted by the first lighting means 5 to pass through.

[0028] It will be noted that the supply of electric power to the first lighting means 5 is provided by wiring that follows a route along the link rods of the roof mechanism that is common to the route taken by the wiring for supplying electric power to the locks (not shown) installed at the front of the roof.

[0029] It will be understood from reading the above description that the device of the present invention makes it possible for the trunk to have one or more lights installed in the upper region of the trunk, allowing satisfactory lighting of the whole of the trunk in the position in which the vehicle is covered, and that, because this or these lights are obscured especially by the rear pillars when the roof is in the stowed position in the trunk, the lighting of the trunk region still available under the roof is then provided by the first lighting means 5 with which the vehicle is equipped.

[0030] Although the invention has been described in connection with a specific embodiment, it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described. 

1. A device for lighting a motor vehicle trunk (2) using a roof device (1) that can be retracted into the rear trunk (2) of the vehicle, comprising a rigid front roof element (3) and a rear roof element (4) forming a rear window, which elements are connected to the body of the vehicle by means allowing the two elements (3 and 4) above to be moved between a position (1 a) in which these two elements (3 and 4) cover the vehicle and a position in which they are stowed in the rear trunk (4), at least one of the roof elements being provided with at least a first means (5, 5 a) for lighting the cabin when the roof (1) is in the vehicle-covering position (1 a), said device being characterized in that it additionally comprises means (B and C) for respectively detecting the presence of the roof in the folded position and the opening of the lid (7) of the rear trunk of the vehicle, these means being connected to the lighting control means (6) in order to illuminate the first lighting means (5, 5 a) of the roof (1) when the roof is in the folded position and, at the same time, the trunk lid is in the opening position.
 2. The device as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the means (C) for detecting the opening of the trunk lid (7) are additionally associated with second lighting means (8) arranged in the upper part of the trunk (2) in order to illuminate or extinguish the second lighting means (8) in accordance with the state of the detection means (C).
 3. The device as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the first lighting means (5, 5 a) are arranged on the front roof element (3) so as to be situated opposite the transparent part of the rear window (4) when the roof (1) is in a stowed position in the trunk (2).
 4. A convertible motor vehicle equipped with a roof that can be retracted into the rear trunk, characterized in that it comprises a device for lighting the trunk as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.
 5. The vehicle as claimed in claim 4 comprising, inside the trunk, a separating screen (9) defining an upper compartment intended for stowing the roof and a lower compartment intended for luggage, characterized in that said separating screen (9) is made from a large-mesh textile or from a translucent material in order to allow the light emitted by the first lighting means (5, 5 a) to pass through. 